President Biden: The NEW one and only politics thread

If Kamala Harris had just gone on Joe Rogan a bunch of voters would have realized why blanket tariffs are a stunningly stupid economic plan?

 

Today, my best fix is to do a bunch of stuff around the house that needs doing. I'll play music I enjoy. I'll do my best to avoid all news, even this board.

I'll think of it all tomorrow. I can stand it then. Tomorrow, I'll think of some way to deal with all of this. After all, tomorrow is another day.

 

Perhaps the biggest stunner is the popular vote. Five million more than Harris and a net 12 million better than 2020 for Trump.
Nor can you chalk this one up to the vagaries of the Electoral College. None of this "a few thousand votes in four states and it flips" business.

There was one certainty on which everybody seemed to agree: This was gonna be a close election. The closest ever. Every battleground state razor-thin. Keep an eye on the POTUS vote in Maine and Nebraska CDs because we might be 269-269 and headed to the House. Nope. Only one state, Wisconsin, will have a margin of ≤ 1.5%. Last time: five. Biden went 4-1, losing only NC.

 

It's hard to go 0-for-3,244.

Because you might not have gone BECAUSE you decided you couldn't afford it and/or didn't want to go into staggering debt.

And you're feeling like a schmuck for being responsible instead of taking a chance that "it'll all work out somehow!" It's a human nature kick in the nuts.

 

I'm a Christian and will not change my beliefs about "do unto others" and the lessons of love, forgiveness and service.

HOWEVER ... to the neighbors who I know who voted in favor of this man, you have lost my trust for as long as will I know you. I also know where the Trump flags were flying on local shops and stores, and will never step foot in your establishment again. One person won't make much of a dent in your bottom line, but I can always find other places to spend my money. If Trump's policies negatively impact your business, that's none of my business.

If Trump does the things he promised in this election that will do serious harm to the weak, the powerless and the voiceless, I will not only hold you personally responsible but do nothing to come to your aid if that also causes you to lose your Social Security, Medicare benefits or insurance. And God forbid you suffer a natural disaster or calamity. Thoughts and prayers.

You made your bed. Lie in it. Whatever good comes from this, enjoy it. Whatever bad comes from this, I wish you double the pain.

 

Meanwhile in Wisconsin, incumbent D Tammy Baldwin holds off Eric Hovde for the Senate.

Two years ago, incumbent D governor Tony Evers comfortably beat Tim Michels. At time same time, incumbent R Ron Johnson handily defeated Mandela Barnes.

If only I could find a correlation between the two …

 

That reminds me. I need to call my doctor and see about getting immunized for those diseases before they come roaring back.

 

Donald Trump orchestrated a conspiracy to stay in office after losing an election.

If that wasn’t enough for any generic Dem to win a rout, you’ve learned all you need to know about the electorate in this country.

Expect the least in people, and you’ll never be disappointed.

 

Saw talk of this last night, but this exit poll breakdown shows Harris did worse with women than Biden... and Clinton.

So much for "year of the woman."

Anatomy of three Trump elections: How Americans voted in 2024 vs. 2020 and 2016

 

Harris, or whoever the Dems would nominate, needed more time to introduce herself and her plans. Obviously, Biden couldn't telegraph his plans publicly as early as we would have liked just to keep his administration going, but, perhaps privately, mention it to party bosses at, say, this time a year ago. There may even have been some talk among party leaders about that, but it took the dreadful debate performance to have him step out.

Over the last couple of weeks too, I've been questioning the "all swing states, all the time" strategy. I think the only time she made it out here to California was to collect a fundraising check. Otherwise, it seemed to be a rotation of Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania, ect., all the time. I know Trump did the same thing, but I still felt left out of the loop after a while.

I was not a fan of Harris when she threw her hat in the ring in 2019, even as a favorite daughter candidate. It was clear from Day One of the Biden administration he was grooming her (in the traditional sense, of course) for the job. She's a very bright, very personable person. Unfortunately, she can never run for this office again and will be consigned to the political scrap heap the rest of her life.

 

What makes you think that the results would have been any different had she gone through a primary process that started in '23?

I don't get the talk of this, and the blame some are putting on Biden for "staying in too long."

It's all about how middle America perceives inflation and the economy, with a little misogyny mixed in.

I don't see how more time "more messaging," changes anything. The gaps in the numbers are too big to think if she had simply had more time to reach voters, she would have made up the difference.